Updates, advisories and surprises

(7:12 PM ET) LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Japanese stocks opened softer Wednesday, with some weak earnings reports and a slightly stronger yen helping send the Nikkei Stock Average(JP:NI225)down 0.5% to 11,315.72, with the Topix losing 0.4%. After initial gains, the yen moved higher overnight after an official from the Group of 20 major economies signaled fellow members of the bloc were not endorsing Tokyo's weak-yen policies, as previously believed. The higher yen weighed on some major exporters, with Sony Corp.(JP:6758)
SNE, -1.07%
down 2.2%, Nissan Motor Co.(JP:7201)
NSANY, -0.83%
lower by 1%, Mazda Motor Corp.(JP:7261)
MZDAF, +5.27%
off 2.6%, and Panasonic Corp.(JP:6752)
PC, -0.77%
fell 2.4%. Earnings disappointments also moved shares, with Pioneer Corp.(JP:6773)
PNCOF, -18.49%
plunging 5.8% after saying it plans to cut jobs and now expects to post a full-fiscal-year loss. Shares of Olympus Corp.(JP:7733)
OCPNF, +6.07%
dropped 3.3% after the firm posted a narrower quarterly loss but trimmed its own full-year forecast due to weak camera sales.

Cliffs Natural swings to loss; cuts dividend

(5:24 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.
CLF, -7.31%
citing a steep drop in iron ore prices and one-time charges, reported late Tuesday a fourth-quarter loss of $1.62 billion, or $11.36 a share, reversing a year-ago profit of $185 million, or $1.30 a share. Adjusted to exclude one-time items, the company earned $89 million, or 62 cents a share. Revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31 fell to $1.54 billion from $1.6 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had predicted the Cleveland, Ohio-based iron ore and coal mining company would earn 51 cents a share on $1.54 billion in revenue. The company also cut its quarterly dividend 76% to 15 cents a share from 62.5 cents. Cliffs Natural shares fell as much as 7.9% to $33.71 in after-hours trade.

Trulia trims fourth-quarter loss as sales rise

(4:51 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Online real estate marketplace Trulia Inc.
TRLA
on Tuesday reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of $1.6 million, or 6 cents a share, on revenue of $20.6 million, compared with a loss of $2.1 million, or 30 cents a share, on $11.74. million in sales in the same period a year ago. Excluding one-time items, Trulia would have lost 3 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast Trulia to lose 2 cents a share on $19.1 million in revenue. Trulia also said that for its current, fiscal first quarter, it expects to report sales of $20.8 million to $21.2 million, while analysts had forecast Trulia's revenue at $19.3 million .

Western Union profit falls 47%

(4:44 PM ET) SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Western Union Co.
WU, +1.81%
reported late Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit fell 47% to $237.9 million, or 40 cents a share, from $452.3 million, or 73 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 slipped to $1.42 billion from $1.43 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to earn 35 cents a share on $1.4 billion in revenue. Western Union said it expects to earn from $1.33 to $1.43 a share in 2013, less than the $1.48 a share analysts were looking for. Western Union shares were down 1.6% at $14.11 in after-hours trade. The stock is down 18% over the past 12 months.

McGraw-Hill swings to loss, outlines 2013 estimate

(10:39 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- McGraw-Hill Cos.
MHP, +0.00%
the New York-based financial-information company, reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $216 million, or 76 cents a share, compared with net income of $214 million, or 73 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. The latest earnings from continuing operations were 67 cents a share compared with 37 cents a year earlier. The latest adjusted earnings from continuing operations were 72 cents a share. McGraw-Hill plans to sell its education division and has classified the unit as a discontinued operation. Revenue reached $1.23 billion, up from $1 billion. A survey of analysts by FactSet produced consensus estimates of profit of 69 cents a share on revenue of $1.53 billion. And McGraw-Hill estimated that in 2013 it would earn an adjusted $3.10 to $3.20 a share, compared with $2.75 in 2012. FactSet's survey had been looking for $3.57 for the year. (Corrects fourth-quarter consensus estimates.)

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